joey_big_nose

Doesn't do anything like enough off the ball for me.. total passenger. Cantwell despite being technically better than Sigurdsson also works nuts off out of possession .Arnor could learn a thing or two.

Well Bells promotion and many games in the Premier League would quibble with that... Like quite a few players in recent times we didnt get the best out of him.

Unpopular opinion but the Nations League has been a good innovation as it creates competitive games against similar opposition instead of friendlies. But for it to make sense they also need to cut the daft qualifier games against San Merino etc. Just use the Nations League for qualifying and get rid of the qualifiers completely imo.

Beck as left winger is an interesting thought. Hes got a great engine and a bit of quality, but he is really a "bomber" who loves running from deep. His starting position in midfield might not really suit him. But he would definitely give us a lot more width and crossing ability than Hedges, and I think he would be able to match Hedges work rate and robustness off the ball. Id be tempted to give it a go. What is clear to me is despite Pickerings detractors Harry gives a lot of quality on the ball in the build up. Id hesitate to drop him again.

I'd be surprised if we dropped Wiemann after he just scored two excellent goals. I imagine it will be an identical team to against Cardiff, the only player I could see possibly swapped out is Hedges for ACD or maybe Beck. But if I was a betting man I would go for an identical XI. I always think you are well set in a game if you can dominate the midfield and I can see Travis, Tronstad and Cantwell being a really really effective trio. They should only improve as they get more and more used to playing with one another.

The relationship between football on tv and crowds is quite strange... I think its hard to really draw a direct correlation but if any is made you can argue that the more football is on tv the crowds actually seem to go up. Seen that over the years in the Championship, Premiership and Champions League. Doesn't seem a zero sum thing at all. For me the kickoff time is much more the issue rather than games being on tv. If all Rovers games were on TV and we put some decent performances together I could see it driving up the numbers attending games much more than good performances unseen by those who couldn't be there...

On early / late kickoffs surely it would be better just to repeal the 3pm blackout and show the 3pm games rather than dick about with many concurrent games at the daft kick off times.

I am usually a fan of Hedges, and no one can question his work rate off the ball.... But think today and every game hes had on the left he just seems so unsure what to do when he gets into the final third. He tends to come inside onto his weak right foot, congests things, and picks a poor shot / pass. For a left footed player it's so odd how uncomfortable he is to go outside his full back on the left.

Think this is probably the best allround performance weve had in a long time. Apart from one mad moment from JRC weve been really great....GK, defence, midfield up front all looked excellent. Travis, Tronstad, Cantwell looks a top centre midfield, ohashi looked way better than he has recently. Really thought with losing Carter defence would be in trouble but its coped very well. Only downsides are Hedges who continues to really struggle wide left, JRC moment of madness and big Mak offering nothing again.

Really ? We absolutely cut them apart first half, looked way quicker and fitter.

Genuinely no idea what Baker offers and then pops up with that ..

Ive been impressed with Cantwell defensively... He really drops in and helps. The trio of him, Travis and Tronstad looks really effective.

Disagree... Hes doing it all. His touch, ball retention and passing like a completely different player.

Well he could never be the sort of play maker he is today under Mowbray either.

I dont know what happened to Trav at Ipswich... He can play on the half turn excellently and ping it around in a way he never did before.

You were saying my friend?

Great first half just like Stoke but we got the goal. Travis has been very very good. When hes on song he is beginning to look one of the best midfielders in the division imo.

I am not too worried yet... Stoke was the first game you would definitely expect us to win on paper which we lost, and we played well. Losses in our recent away games and Sheffield Utd at home were not surprising. If we continue in classic Championship fashion and pick up a couple of wins in November all will be broadly as expected. If we go through November with no wins then I'll start getting really concerned. Just need someone to start scoring...

And Mowbray... We have consistent issues in the way we play across the last six years or so. - we're dead once we go behind in games - we give away cheap goals - we have a terrible record in midweek - we go on long death spirals Was hoping that Eustace could fix it, but losing that hope.

Classic Championship stramash.... 3 points off sixth and four points off 22nd...

Yeah we definitely played well across the centre of the pitch... But if you cant score and give away cheap goals alarms bells should be ringing... Ohashi, Gueye and Leonard all missed absolute sitters.

Playing badly and winning is the sign of a good team. Playing well and losing a sign of a bad one.

What about swapping Hedges for Leonard? Think of the few options we have that seems the best.

About as good a first half as you could ask for except for not scoring and then conceding a gilt edged chance... Totally dominant. Hope we can keep it going second half and manage to convert... But could just as easily go down to a sloppy goal. Gah.

On paper it looks good but we've really struggled to make it work this season. When we've switched to a back three we lost the midfield.